Treatment of textile filaments, yarns, threads, or the like



Feb. 26, 1935. w, TAYLOR 1,992,259

TREATMENT OF TEXTILE FILAMENTS, YARNS, THREADS, OR THE LIKE Filed Dec. 21, 1929 WILLIAM I. TAYLOR NVENTOR ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 26, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT 'OFFlCE TREATMENT OF TEXTILE FILAM'ENTS; YARNS, THREADS, OR THELIKE Application December 21,1929, Serial No. 415,809 In Great Britain January 11, 1929 ,13 Claims.

The invention is concerned with the production of intermittent coloured, multi-coloured, or crossdyed effects along the length of theyarns and according to the invention the yarns are treated at intervals While they are travelling with substances directed to the attainment of this result.

Numerous methods may be employed for carrying out the invention. According to one method, the travelling yarnsv are treated at intervalsalong their length with substances which render the yarns capable of receiving cross-dyed or multicoloured effects by the subsequent application to the yarns of dyes which have aflinities for the treated or the untreated parts only or have different affinities for the treated and the untreated parts. The yarns may also be brought to the condition just described by an intermittent application to them while they are travelling of 25 a reserve which resists the action of substances capable of rendering the yarns receptive of crossdyed or multi-coloured effects, or which prevent the colouration of the treated parts by dyestuffs directly applied to the yarns. The yarns thus 30 treated may be coloured with suitable dyes whether as yarns, or after they have been formed into fabrics or articles.

In the case where a reserve is applied and the yarns are subsequently treated with a substance which modifies the affinity for dyestuffs of the untreated parts, this subsequent treatment can be performed on the yarns as such, the yarns then being dyed, or worked into fabrics or articles before dyeing, or on fabrics or articles made of or containing the yarns, which fabrics or articles can then be dyed. The invention therefore includes within its scope yarns which have received an application at intervals along their length of a substance which is adapted to aid in the production of cross-dyed or multi-coloured effects, whether such yarns display different affinities in their treated and untreated parts for dyestuffs, or whether they require asubsequent treatment to produce the differing affinities; there are also included the yarns when they have received such cross-dyed or multi-coloured effects, and likewise-fabrics or articles, whether dyed or undyed, formed wholly or in part from such yarns after any stage ofthe treatment of the yarns.

According to a further method the formation of intermittent cross-dyed or multi-coloured effects along the length of yarns is effected by the direct application to the travelling yarns of colouring material at intervals along the-yarn, or by the discharge of colour from the travelling yarn, the invention including within its scope yarns coloured by such a process of intermittent application, and also fabrics or articles formed wholly or in part of such yarns.

In a further method, a reserve or discharge is applied at intervals to the yarn, which is then coloured, these yarns and fabrics or articles containing them also being included within the invention, both when the yarns, fabrics, or articles have been coloured or prior to the colouring having been performed. I g

In the case where the yarn is given a modified afllnity for dyestuffs, this may be effected by saponifying, loading, or mordanting the yarn. The treated parts of. the yarn then either exhibit different aifinities for certain dyes from the untreated parts, or, in some cases, even remain unaffected by dyes which colour the untreated parts, or vice versa.

' Thus, yarns of cellulose acetate or other organic estersof cellulose may be saponified at any de-' sired intervals along their length, with the result that the saponified parts acquire an aflinity for dyes which colour cotton yarns. Similarly, such yarns may be loaded or mordanted, with the aid, if desired, of a swelling agent, and so receive a modified afiinity for dyestuffs used in colouring the yarns. Loading and mordanting may also be applied to natural silk yarns with similar results- Treatment with a reserve or discharge followed by the application of colouring materials is, of course, applicable to yarns of cotton, silk, wool, viscose, cuprammonium and nitrocellulose artificial silk, and other materials generally, as well as to yarns of cellulose acetate and other organic derivatives of cellulose for the attainment of intermittent and multi-colour effects. Similarly, the direct application of colour to or the discharge of colour from yarns by the process according to the invention may be applied to yarns of any character by the use of appropriate dyes or discharges.

For the saponification of cellulose acetate filaments, there may be applied to the filaments a substance such as an aqueous, alcoholic, or other solution of caustic soda, caustic potash, sodium or potassium carbonate, sodium silicate, or tri-soviously be treated with aluminium acetate to prevent running of the saponifying substance, the clear definition thus obtained being advantageous when the saponification takes place at very short intervals along the filaments.

As a reserve to be intermittently applied to cellulose ester yarns which are subsequently saponified, melted waxes,'e. g. a mixture of refined ground nut oil and hardened whale oil, are very suitable.

Loading of the yarn may be effected-by the application of any suitable materials, for example, the materials described in British patent specifications Nos. 258,874 and 260,290 and United States patent applications S. Nos. 194,859 of 27th,

May, 1927, 162,215 of 19th, January, 1927 and 178,504 of 25th, March, 1927. After the application of the loading material, it is desirable to allow the yarn to stand for sometime before applying a fixing material, and'for this purpose the yarn may be reeled on to a swift, the hank thus formed being allowed to stand before the subsequent fixing and washing operations.

In the case of the treatment of cellulose acetate or other cellulose derivatives, mordants or discharges may be applied, if desired, with the aid ."of swelling agents for the cellulose derivatives.

The application to the yarn of the treating substance, whether for the purpose of directly colcuring the yarn-or rendering it capable of receiving colour effects as indicated above, is preferably directed towards the production along the length of the yarn of a regular sequence or pattern of treated and untreated portions, it being possible to produce innumerable arrangements or patterns, varying from a regular alternation of equal or unequal lengths of treated and untreated parts to a more or less elaborate grouping of varying lengths of treated and untreated yarn, with one or more such groups recurring along the length of the -yarn.- The effects thus produced on the yarn enable coloured patterns or effects of a correspondingly simple or more or less involved nature to be obtained in fabrics or articles woven, knitted, or otherwise formed from the yarn. When the yarn has been so treated as to render it capable of receiving cross-dyed or multl-colour effects by subsequent dyeing, it is immaterial whether dyeing to obtain the differential colour efiects is carried out before or after working up the yarn. Similarly, when, as described above, a reserve has been intermittently applied so that a subsequent treatment modifies the affinity for dyestuffs of the untreated parts, the two steps of the subsequent treatment and the dyeing can be performed at any suitable stage after the application of the reserve. On the other hand, when the colour eifects have been applied directly to the yarn, no further dyeing of fabrics or articles made from the yarn is necessary, coloured pattems or effects being obtained by the step of working up the yarn.

The novel yarns are very useful in enabling multl-colour effects to be obtained in fabrics or articles containing the yarn, whether the yarn is distributed throughout the whole of the fabric or article (e. g. as both warp and weft, or as warp" ment, for example, of the.yarn' at such short inwholly undiscernible. Thus, dyes which colour the treated or the untreated parts only of the yarn produce a substantially uniform appearance on the dyed yarn, and, by means of a treatment of the character referred to, it is possible to colour yarns with dyes for which the yarns have normally little or no aflinity, while leaving the yarns still capable of being coloured by dyes which are normally used on the yarns. For example, cellulose acetate yarn can thus be dyed with dyes which colour cotton yarn as well as with dyes normally used for cellulose acetate yarn. This advantage in dyeing is not confined to the colour ing of the yarn as such, but, of course, extends to the dyeing of fabrics or articles made from orcontaining the yarns.

Numerous methods may be adopted to apply the treating substance at intervals along the yarn. Thus the travelling yarn may receive the treating substance from a wick or other absorbent material, the intermittent application being effected either by moving the applying means into contact with the yarn or by causing the yarn to be displaced into or out of contact with the applying means. Other methods which may be employed are indicated in the subsequent description.

Various forms of apparatus which may be employed to carry out the process according to the invention will now be described but it is to be ,understood that the following description is given length of each treated portion. A convenientapparatus comprises a rotatable device having a plurality of arms each carrying va wick which is kept moistened with treating substance supplied from a container inside or in communication with the device. Alternatively, the wicks may be fed by contact with a roller rotating in a trough of the treating substance. The arrangement of the arms on the device, their length of contact with the filaments, and the speed of rotation of the device determine the arrangement of the treated portions on the yarn.

Similar rotary, oscillatory, or reciprocatory devices may be employed to bring the travelling yam into or out of contact with the applying means, which may conveniently comprise a stationary wick or other absorbent material charged with the substance to be applied. For instance, a plurality of arms may be mounted on a rotary device arranged so as to intercept the yarn on its way to a wick, the arms being brought by the rotation of the device into engagement with the yarn to raise it out of contact with the wick and to effect an intermittent treatment of the yarn, which is determined by the arrangement of the arms, their peripheral width, and the speed of the device.

The treatment may, moreover, be carried out by acetate or other organic esters of cellulose.

The treated yarn may be-subjected, if desired, to a treatment such as drying, sizing, or lubricating before collection, which is carried out in any suitable manner, as by winding or twisting and winding. It may be desirable, moreover, to re-- move any excess of treating substance or to complete the treatment of the yarn by washing or by the application of further substances, in which cases, the further operations may also be carried out prior to the collection of the yarn. In the,

case of the treatment of the yarn by saponification, while it is not necessary to provide for any further treatment to follow the application of the saponifying material, the yarn may, if desired, be washed to free it from excess treating mate rial.

The treatment according to the invention may be carried out either during a winding operation, e. g. from bobbin-to-bobbin, or from hank-tobobbin, or continuously with the production of yarn, being particularly applicable 'to treatment of the yarn continuously with its production by the dry or .evaporative method.

The intermittently treated yarns, whether dyed or undyed, may be woven, knitted, or otherwise formed into fabrics or articles, either alone or together with the same or other artificial yarns, or with yarns of natural filaments or fibres, or the treated yarns may be spun, or doubled and twisted with other yarns of natural or artificial filaments or fibres before being formed into fabrics or articles.

The accompanying drawing shows by way of example the application of the invention to the treatment of cellulose acetate filaments continuously with their production, and also of threads during a bobbin-to-beam winding operation.

Fig. 1 is a side view in diagrammatic form of apparatus for treating the filaments continuously with their production.

Figs. 2 and 3 are end and side views respectively of a detail of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a form of apparatus suitable for treating threads in a winding operation.

In Fig. 1, 5 is a dry-spinning cell from which the filaments Gare drawn by a feed roller 7, the filaments passing by a guide 8 to a winding or twisting and winding device, such as the capspinning apparatus 9. In their passage from the roller 7 to the guide 8 the filaments 6 normally make contact with the wick 10 supplied with liquid from a container 11. Interposed between the roller 7 and the wick 10 is a device 12 consisting of a number of radiating arms 13 adapted during rotation of the device 12 to lift the filaments 6, as shown in dotted lines, clear of the wick 10. Th arms 13 are conveniently grooved as shown at 14 to ensure their proper engagement with the filaments.

For the application of liquids which are to be applied in a heated or molten condition, the con tainer 11 may be provided with a pipe 15 supplied with steam, hot water, or other heating medium. When the filaments are treated with saponifying material, they may be carriedover a wick charged with oil after passing the wick 10.

The frequency with which the filaments 6 are lifted from the wick depends on the number of arms 13 with which the device 12 is provided, and the rate at which the device is rotated. If desired, a further device 16 having the same or a different number of radiating arms 1'7 and rotating at the same or a different speed as the device 12 may be used in conjunction with the device 12 to increase the variety of patterned effect produced by the lifting of the filaments from the wick 10.

It will be understood that this form of apparatus may also be applied to the treatment of filaments, yarns, or threads during bobbin-tobobbin, hank-to-bobbin, or other winding operation, as well as continuously with their production. For the simultaneous treatment of a large number of threads, however, it is preferred to use the apparatus shown in Fig. 4. The threads 18 are shown being withdrawn from bobbins 19 by the pull of a roller 20 round which the threads pass. The threads are caused to pass over a rotating drum 21 to the periphery of which are secured a number of slats 22 which come into intermittent contact with the threads during the rotation of the drum 21. The outer face of the slats is covered with fabric to which liquid is supplied by means of endless bands or wicks 23, e. g. of mercerized cotton, passing round the drum and round a glass 'rod or roller 24 which is immersed in liquid contained in a trough 25. The fabric faces of the slats 22 thus supply the liquid intermittently to the threads 18, the bands or wicks being so arranged along the length of the drum 21 that the threads 18 make contact with the faces of the slats 22 only. The length and frequency of the treated portions of the threads depend on-the width and spacing of the slats, the peripheral speed of the drum 21, and the linear speed of the filaments over the drum.

If necessary, the threads may be dried by pass-' ing over a heated plate or chamber 26 of any convenient length on their way to the roller 20. Thread guides 27 may be provided to keep the filaments evenly spaced from the roller 20. The

simultaneously spun from a nozzle of the multijet type, may be treated simultaneously and individually, but it is preferred to associate them as a thread before submitting them to the treatment, and several such threads may be treated simultaneously and afterwards collected, preferably with twisting, either as single threads or associated into alarger thread.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:--

1. Process for the treatment of filaments of organic esters of cellulose, said process comprising applying a saponifying agent for the organic ester of cellulose at intervals along the length of the filaments while they are traveling in the course of their production.

2. Process for the treatment of filamentswf organic esters of cellulose comprising, as an operation continuous with their production by the dry or evaporative method, applying a saponifying agent for the organic ester of cellulose at in- 1 tervals along the length of the filaments While.

they are travelling in the course of their production. 7

3. Process for the treatment of filaments of cellulose acetate comprising, as an operation continuous with their production by the dry or evaporative method, applying a saponifying agent for the cellulose acetate at intervals along the length of the filaments while they are travelling in the course of th ir production.

4. Filaments of organic esters of cellulose saponified at intervals along their length and colored with dyestuffs having an affinity for the same.

5. Filaments of cellulose acetate saponified'at intervals along their length and colored with dyestuffs having an affinity for the same.

6. Filaments of organic esters of cellulose saponified at intervals along their length and uniformly colored with dyestuffs having an affin-. ity for untreated cellulose ester material.

'7. Filaments of cellulose acetate saponified at intervals along their length and uniformly colored with dyestuffs having an aflinity for untreated cellulose acetate material.

8. Filaments of organic esters of cellulose saponifiedat intervals along their length, at least part of which filaments are colored with dyestuffs having an aflinity for untreated organic ester material, said filaments presenting a substantially uniform appearance.

9. Filaments of cellulose acetatesaponified at intervals along their length, at least part of which filaments are colored with dyestuffs having an affinity for untreated cellulose acetate material, said filaments presenting asubstantiallyuniform appearance. t

10. Fabrics having closely adjacent color effects in variegated designs, said fabrics containing yarns of organic esters of cellulose saponified at intervals along their length and colored with a dyestuif having an affinity for the saponified portions of the. organic esters of cellulose filaments.

11. Fabrics having closely adjacent color effects in variegated designs, said fabrics containing yarns of cellulose acetate saponified at intervals along their length and colored with. a dyestufi having an affinity for the saponified portions of x the cellulose acetate filaments.

l2. Fabrics made of yarns containing filaments of organic esters of cellulose saponified at intervals along their length, said fabrics being dyed with dyestuffs having an affinity for the saponified portions of the organic esters of cellulose filaments to produce thereon closely adjacent color effects in variegated designs.

13. Fabrics made of yarns containing filaments of cellulose acetate saponified at intervals along their length, said fabrics being dyed with dyestuffs having an aflmity for the saponified portions of the cellulose acetate filaments to'produce thereon closely adjacent color effects in variegated designs.

WILLIAM IVAN TAYLOR. 

